Science Special News

[Rasputin]

UFO mind-melting in government report

Did you see these headlines this week? "Secret report says UFOs DO exist", screamed one. "UFOs don't exist, says MoD", said another. It turns out to have all stemmed from a 'secret report' by the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), which was unearthed by sleuthing academic David Clarke, a lecturer in investigative journalism at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Clarke spent 18 months using the Freedom of Information Act to extract the report, authored in 2000, partly as a test-case exercise in exploiting the Act, he says. The main upshot of the report is that 'unidentified flying objects' technically do exist, but are mostly sightings of aircraft or odd weather phenomena. Fair enough.

But the media flurry over the report has struck me as at least a little odd. Many of them unquestioningly stated that MoD "scientists" have explained how balls of glowing plasma in the upper atmosphere could be mistaken for flying saucers, and that these plasma balls could in turn interfere with the brain, somehow conjuring up vivid abduction memories. This stems from a bit of the report's summary, which says: "Local fields of this type ... have been medically proven to cause responses in the temporal lobes of the human brain".So is this a solid, scientific explanation for UFO sightings? Sadly, no.

[Rasputin]

Identification key to protecting Bigfoot

Submitted by Pendekar Timur: Until researchers have determined the species and family of the Johor Bigfoot, its only completely safe haven is Johor. The Wildlife Department says scientific identification is a prerequisite for declaring it a totally protected species.The State Government has announced total protection for Bigfoot. This means it is forbidden to injure, capture, kill or transport the animal out of the State.Wildlife Department Biodiversity Conservation Division director Siti Hawa Yatim said it would be difficult to provide protection to an unknown creature."The footprints and sightings are not enough for us to act on. We have no way of providing protection for unknown animals under the Wildlife Protection Act."Siti Hawa said if there was sufficient proof of Bigfoot’s existence, it could be listed as a rare species and protected. Her division had not made any move to investigate as the State Government had not furnished the department with any convincing reports so far, required for the Wildlife Department to order the installation of devices such as camera traps and sound monitors in the areas with sightings.

On claims that a baby Bigfoot had been captured by a team of men in vehicles bearing Wildlife Department markings, she said the department had mounted no such expedition. Meanwhile, two American-based Bigfoot web sites, BFRO and Cryptomundo, are at loggerheads over a New Straits Times report on a Bigfoot book to be published soon.Cryptomundo broke the story of the book, which is said to include photographs of the Johor Bigfoot, last week. BFRO, which has long been following the story, says Cryptomundo has been too patronising in its coverage.

[Rasputin]

Proposals to recreate Stonehenge

An ambitious project to recreate Stonehenge as it would have looked 4,000 years ago is being planned. Fragments of only three circles remain, but quarry firm Preseli Bluestone wants to build all seven from scratch. It is hoped the circles will be completed by 2009. The new site would be open to visitors. An exact location is yet to be decided, but the Cotswold Water Park, which straddles Wiltshire and Gloucs, is one of several sites being considered. Preseli Bluestone owns the quarry in Wales where the stones for the ancient Wiltshire monument originally came from. Colin Shearing, from the company, said: "We don't want to replicate Stonehenge as it stands today, but rather as how it would have looked when completed about 4,000 years ago." The new Stonehenge would be built using both modern and ancient methods which the public would be invited to watch.

The plans are in the very early stages, but the aim is to create a 21st Century 'landmark architectural heritage sculpture' which allows visitors to walk among, and touch, the stones.

[Rasputin]

The hounds of hell

T. Stokes: It was just weeks after the most traumatic spirit venture that ever involved me, and it was only two blocks away, this closeness in both time and place, frightened and unnerved me, and it was with a degree of trepidation that I went to the address in East London, England. The loneliness of the long distance exorcist is tangible and at times almost overpowering.When a “call out” occurs you have to be ready, psychologically, spiritually and even physically, for anything that may happen.Demonic attacks in the physical are rare, but mental and spiritual attacks are quite common, emotional assaults very common indeed.A hysterical lady had shouted down the phone that there were “Werewolves howling”And that was all that I had to go on.I had with me a large hold all bag for all eventualities, and it was quite heavy.As was my way, I stopped outside and had a good look at the house, and examining all my impressions, took a deep breath to quieten the loud inner voices of anxiety and knocked on the door.Before any internal assessment occurs it is always good to look at the outsides of the building as much knowledge can be gained from what the intelligence services call, “the eyes of the house”That is the windows and doors, even a gutter leak down the buildings side can mean the internal damp and warmth are attractive to certain animals of the lower spirit realm.Most spiritualist churches have a member who can deal with “unsavoury spirits” , and this lot had fallen to me, this can be a controversial aspect of our work , and there is much disagreement on it even among spiritual experts.This call out was not one I relished, the only information I had been given was that the elderly occupant was tormented by what she referred to as “The hounds of hell” with frenzied barking and howling from actually inside her home at night, and I was quite apprehensive. However, a very elderly lady invited me inside and chatted away while making me a cup of tea,And, of all things talked about her grandsons school work.I really felt most comfortable, this is not usual in haunting cases and each time I tried to turn the subject to the scary sounds of the howling dogs she complained of arriving in her room at night , she would tell me of someone in her family always ending with the fact that she had seen no one, not family or friend for months on end.Feeling a sense of frustration over the lack of information I decided to take some of the exorcists equipment from my hold all bag.

Asking again about the howling dogs and the fact she had called me out to deal with this, a vision of Conan Doyles masterpiece, “The hound of the baskervilles” flicked through my mind , the prospect of what the night had to offer chilled me somewhat, and her face took on a most serious look and at last after two hours of listening to her gall bladder operation, her daughters marriage, the wicked man next door who spied on her, and her grandsons schoolwork, and that she never had visitors,She at last offered to show me the room of the “night dogs”This was the room where the dogs howled intermittently at night, but nothing was ever seen.. I felt my stomach muscles tighten and followed her to the kitchen, where she whispered me to remain silent.It was only when she turned on the kitchen tap that I could hear these hounds from hell, it was a low barking sound emitting from the water pipes ! maybe it was relief, but I had to burst out laughing, and she joined in .So it was another cup of tea and some merriment, that was the order of the day, on reflection, I am convinced that she had me out on purpose just for someone to talk to. These hounds from hell was no more than noisy water pipes.So much for my frightening ventures into the local thanatological landscape.I was teased for months at my spiritual centre! It was said my service would be better employed by the R.S.P.C.A with calming errant hounds.If only they all ended like that.!

[Rasputin]

What happened to the Minoans ?

single olive branch may have solved one of ancient history's most enduring mysteries: when and why did the great Minoan civilisation of the Mediterranean come to a sudden end? The branch was buried during a cataclysmic volcanic eruption on the Aegean island of Thera - now known as Santorini - and scientists believe they can date the precise moment of the tree's death. Knowing when the Thera eruption happened is important because the explsion was so powerful that it almost certainly caused the collapse of the Minoan civilisation, centred on the island of Crete, 60 miles away. Vulcanologists believe the explosion generated violent tsunamis that destroyed Crete's ports, threw thousands of tons of ash and pumice into the atmosphere and created a "nuclear winter" that led to successive crop failures in the region.Scientists have detected ash from the explosion as far away as Greenland, the Black Sea and Egypt.

They have also discovered signs of frost damage caused by the volcano on preserved plant material excavated in Ireland and California.Walter Friedrich, of the University of Aarhus in Denmark, and his colleagues have analysed the olive branch's growth rings and combined the findings with radiocarbon dating to show the tree must have died between 1627BC and 1600BC."It is important to have a very precise date for the explosion because this eruption is a global time marker. If we can date it precisely we have an important tool to correlate the times of different cultures," Dr Friedrich said.

[Rasputin]

DNA test confirms wild "polargrizz"

A DNA test has confirmed what zoologists, hunters and aboriginal trackers in the far northern reaches of Canada have dreamed of for years: the first documented case of a grizzly-polar bear in the wild. Roger Kuptana, an Inuit tracker from the Northwest Territories, suspected the American hunter he was guiding had shot a hybrid bear after noticing its white fur was spotted brown and it had the long claws and slightly humped back of a grizzly.Territorial officials seized the bear's body and a DNA test from Wildlife Genetics International, a lab in British Columbia, confirmed the hybrid was born of a polar bear mother and grizzly father."It's something we've all known was theoretically possible because their habitats overlap a little bit and their breeding seasons overlap a little bit," said Ian Stirling, a biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Edmonton, Alberta. "It's the first time it's known to have happened in the wild."He said the first person to realize something was different about the bear _ shot and killed last month on the southern end of Banks Island in the Beaufort Sea _ was Kuptana, the guide."These guides know their animals and they recognized that there were a number of things that didn't look quite right for a polar bear," Stirling told The Associated Press. The bear's eyes were ringed with black, its face was slightly indented, it had a mild hump to its back and long claws.

Stirling said polar bears and grizzlies have been successfully paired in zoos and that their offspring are fertile, but there had been no documented case in the wild.Kuptana, a guide from Sachs Harbour in the Northwest Territories, was tracking with Idaho big-game hunter Jim Martell, who paid $45,450 for a license to hunt polar bears.The DNA results were good news for the 65-year-old hunter, who was facing a possible $909 fine and up to a year in jail for shooting a grizzly. The Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources Department now intends to return the bear to Martell."It will be quite a trophy," Martell told the National Post last week, even before the DNA results were in. He returned to Yellowknife for another hunt, this time for a grizzly bear. He told the newspaper he has dubbed the creature "polargrizz."

[Rasputin]

The dark side of genetics ?

H.F.Raven: The seeming innocence in the phrase "Genetic Testing," or, "Genetic Counseling," can be deceptively misleading. Many would argue on grounds as simple as standing for or against the subject. Both choices, however, have inherent risks involved. The simple reality and way of genetic testing & counseling is like Pandora's Box: Out of it may come many misuses and negatives, but remaining will be the seductive power to do good and carry on.Genetic testing, in essence, is testing of the human genome, usually before birth, to determine the possibilities of certain traits or more commonly, impediments that may affect the life of the human. With our ever expanding knowledge of DNA and its specific genetic makeup, in theory, we would be able to counsel the parents of the individual if and when diagnosed with disease or the similar (Kass, "Genetic Engineering Threatens Human Dignity").

In theory, genetic testing is also an innocent practice; By finding the problems before birth, we can hope to correct the problems or get a head start and educating the parents about the problems their child may encounter in life. Readiness today to ensure a better tomorrow. This readiness should be a path to victory over such problems. Preparation and lessening methods are often helpful, although they cannot defeat the very genetic makeup of an individual that is the inexorable source of the problem.When our knowledge of how DNA works and the specific coding for specific traits increases to its paramount, the human race will have achieved something that has plagued every living creature for all time: Mother Nature. It is through the domination of this eternal mother on playing field after playing field that we, as a race, agree we have advanced as a result of. However, can there really be true reassurance and prosperity with the true nature of DNA at the command of the very beings it programmed? Such a claim seems reminiscent of stories detailing conflicts by man and the machines he has created that, in time, excel beyond man. This time, however, it would be the supposedly perfect versus the deemed imperfect (Peters, Genetic Screening is Ethically Problematic).The benefits of genetic testing to determine what problems a child may have before they are even born are almost unfathomable. Instead of relying heavily on prayer and pharmaceuticals, humanity – or those who could afford the hefty price of DNA synthesizing – would be immune from disease, saved from negative heredity, and all would have the opportunity to embrace an iron immune system that only a few conditioned humans have today.With the downfall of disease, life expectancy would, in turn, shoot through the roof. Genetic testing and counseling is in no way the Holy Grail in our losing battle against inevitable Father Time, but it is another nail in his coffin.

With disease and sickness out of the way because of empowered immune systems and DNA perfected before birth, only war or the slowed degeneration of cells from the toll of time would poison our body and lead to our demise. In the best scenario, it could be an Earth where all can enjoy her fruits and sweets longer, and explore the joys of life without the problems that have plagued previous generations since the very creation of life; old age (Kass, "Genetic Engineering Threatens Human Dignity").It is after we think of the conquering of disease that all humans must ask themselves one simple question: "What else can be altered and determined with genetic testing?" Once contemplated, the initial ramifications are frightening. With the ability to screen and determine traits, we would also have the ability to alter traits. A racial supremacist's dream-come-true. It is likely some parents would simply end the modification of their laboratory child's DNA at the level of susceptibility to diseases. With little doubt, though, others may desire to alter other things about their child: Expected height, hair color, eye color, skin color and an infinite amount of other genotypes and phenotypes. The alteration of the human genome can quickly leap from fighting disease to giving rise to a hopeless ideal of perfection (Peters, "Genetic Screening is Ethically Problematic").

[Rasputin]

Bigfoot in Texas ?

In 1994 Craig Woolheater and his wife were driving at night from New Orleans to Dallas, Texas. Somewhere in the swampy woods near Alexandria, Louisiana, he saw something at the side of the road. It was covered with hair, about seven feet tall, and walked on two legs. He asked his wife "Did you see what I saw?". "Yes," she said, and they concluded that while they couldn't prove it, the most likely explanation was that they'd seen the creature once known to the Indians as the wild man or the lost giant. In other words, he says, they'd seen Bigfoot, or the "Woolly Booger," as he's sometimes called in these parts. "People think that Bigfoot is a Pacific Northwest phenomenon," said Woolheater, who is now director of the Texas Bigfoot Research Center outside of Dallas. "But there have been sightings in every state of the Union except Hawaii."

"Here in Texas," he added, "We have 22 million acres (9 million hectares) of forestland. In the four-state region [Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana] there are 65 million acres [26,000,000 hectares]. That's equivalent to the entire state of Oregon—not just the forest, but the entire state [much of Oregon is desert]." "We have hundreds of eyewitness reports, footprint casts, hair samples—just as in the Pacific Northwest," Woolheater said.

[Rasputin]

Big meteorite creates big mysteries

Submitted by Marvy: Scientists have discovered a beach ball-sized meteorite a half-mile below a giant crater in South Africa. The 145-million-year-old meteorite, found in the Morokweng crater, has a chemical composition unlike any known meteorite. It is also an unusual find because it was largely unaltered by the extreme heat from the impact.The study is detailed in the May 11 issue of the journal Nature.Scientists have collected thousands of various meteorites over the years and tell them all apart by their various structural, chemical, and mineralogical compositions. The specific concentrations of platinum group elements in the newfound 10-inch (25 centimeter) meteorite place it in the "LL-ordinary chondrite" group of meteorites.But other characteristics set it apart from the group, such as having silicate and sulfide minerals rich in iron, but no metallic iron-nickel phase.

"So it is 'another kind' of LL-ordinary chondrite that we do not have in our collections," said study co-author Alexander Shukolyukov of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego.A potential implication of this odd meteorite, he said, is that the bombardment of meteorites 145 million years ago was different than those crashing into Earth more recently. The researchers can't say for sure why this fragment is preserved. Current models indicate that no unaltered fragments can survive large impacts, which, Shukolyukov suggests, implies the models are incomplete.It is also clear that it was much, much larger than 10 inches in diameter when it smacked the surface.

[Rasputin]

"Intelligence gene" identified

Submitted by Kratos: Psychiatric researchers at The Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have uncovered evidence of a gene that appears to influence intelligence. "A robust body of evidence suggests that cognitive abilities, particularly intelligence, are significantly influenced by genetic factors. Existing data already suggests that dysbindin may influence cognition," said Katherine Burdick, PhD, the study's primary author. "We looked at several DNA sequence variations within the dysbindin gene and found one of them to be significantly associated with lower general cognitive ability in carriers of the risk variant compared with non-carriers in two independent groups."The study involved 213 unrelated Caucasian patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 126 unrelated healthy Caucasian volunteers. The researchers measured cognitive performance in all subjects. They then analyzed participants' DNA samples.

The researchers specifically examined six DNA sequence variations, also known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in the dysbindin gene and found that one specific pattern of SNPs, known as a haplotype, was associated with general cognitive ability: Cognition was significantly impaired in carriers of the risk variant in both the schizophrenia group and the healthy volunteers as compared with the non-carriers.

[Rasputin]

Two Books on Johor Bigfoot confirmed

Two books containing colour pictures of "Bigfoot" or Orang Lenggor and written by separate groups will be published in a few months in an attempt to prove the existence of the creature which has created worldwide interest. Biodiversity expert Vincent Chow, who is writing one of the books with two others, said their book would answer questions about the elusive creature."It resembles a pre-historic human, not ape," he told Bernama on Friday."The body is covered by a layer of long hair except on the face, which is bare. It has a fierce-looking face, big body and walks with a hunch. It resembles a sturdy man," he added.He said the book would shake the scientific world and the thinking of conventional scientists.Chow said that from the pictures he had seen, the creature had probably lived in solitude for thousands of years without being detected.When asked where and when the pictures were taken, he said he did not know but he was sure they were taken in a Johor forest.He said the owner of the pictures was an elderly man who refused to reveal his identity and had left for Thailand recently to escape from possible harassment.

"From what we know, he is a former communist guerilla who spent a long time in the jungle," he said.The owner had asked for the creature not to be disturbed and considered it a treasure of Johor which needed to be protected, he said.Chow said the book would prove that the creature existed but it might not be able to satisfy the skeptics."They will say the pictures are phony and will believe it only if they were to touch it, smell its odour and so on," he said.A Johor Wildlife Protection Association officer told Bernama that the association also planned to launch a book written in Chinese in July on the creature it calls Orang Lenggor."Yes, the book will have pictures as evidence of Orang Lenggor's existence. We are sure all along that the creature exists and the pictures will prove it," he said.

[Rasputin]

Reading for Roseanna

Kathleen Meadows: Today marks the one year anniversary of the last time I sat across from Roseanna to do a Tarot reading for her. Roseanna was a psychotherapist for a children’s treatment centre, and I am a feminist psychic Tarot reader and teacher with a Master’s degree in Religion and Culture, focusing on women’s spirituality, the writings of Carl Jung, and divination. I read online at www.psychicanada.com where you can also find more of my true psychic tales. Roseanna had invited me to do Tarot readings at their annual staff wellness day. I was deeply honoured to be invited, and a little taken aback hearing Roseanna’s whoop for joy when I accepted. She said, “You’ll be the most popular venue! Get ready – your dance card will be full before the day even starts!”

About a month before this event, it struck me as odd that I hadn’t received any formal confirmation or directions. I emailed Roseanna, and received an auto reply that she would be out of her office until further notice. Another staff person would be contacting me re my query. A couple of days later another staff member called to say Roseanna was off on sick leave and she would be handling the arrangements for the event in her place. I asked what was wrong, and she said, “Oh you haven’t heard?! Roseanna has just been diagnosed with cancer and they want to get her started on treatments right away.” A million things started swirling through my mind, as it typically does in these sorts of circumstances for everyone who has a friend, or relative facing a life threatening disease. My first thought was Roseanna is only 46 years old! She has three adolescent children and is one of the nicest women I know. My next thought was about angels. Roseanna and I had been a part of channelling group together. It had been organized by a social worker and a computer programmer who together conjured up this wild plan to gather a monthly meet of strangers to channel spiritual messages. Several of the members were health care professionals, and all were scrupulous about keeping this little group a secret. What would the community think if it came out that this group of professionals were meeting regularly to channel spirits?! It certainly wasn’t a worry of mine – I was already rather well known for these sorts of eccentricities. The group would sit in a circle, meditate and then simply say whatever it was we were seeing, feeling, or experiencing, and if we had a particular message to convey to someone in our group, we would ask permission to share this information and then present it.

Roseanna’s iconography of choice was characteristically “angels”. She always saw angels. Enormous angels! As tall as the CN Tower in Toronto. She had angel pictures, statues, candles everywhere in her house. We always teased Roseanna about her angels. A year ago today, I was standing at the back of the child’s treatment facility, relaxing, taking a few good, deep breaths before going in to start what Roseanna had indeed predicted correctly, to be a busy day ahead. I turned around to enter the building and found myself toe to toe with Roseanna. I exclaimed, “Well! What are you doing here? I thought you were off to fight a dark invader?” She laughed and said, “Nothing in the world would keep me away from here today! I wouldn’t miss a reading with you for anything.” Oh dear. Now this is one of those moments in a reader’s life when resistance can override anticipation. To say I was dismayed is putting the matter into an rather understated frame. There was no way I was going to get out of this. I said, “You know Roseanna, there are some cards in my bag here that might be a little disconcerting for you to see right now. Like the Death, Tower or Devil cards. Actually, to be truthful, Roseanna, these are cards that are frankly on for my avoid list right now.” Slyly, hopefully, I suggested, “Maybe I could just remove them before we begin?” Roseanna smiled, “No way Kathleen! We’re going to do a full, real reading with all the cards! Since when did you turn into such a coward?” Resigned and not feeling too brave, I followed Roseanna in the door, down the hall to my little assigned reading room. I set up and sat shuffling cards.

Looking at Roseanna, I was losing my struggle not to cry. The sadness I felt for this adoring mother, nurturing therapist, and so solid woman was way more than I had bargained to face this day. Way more. Like a woman eyeing her noose, I said, “Well, Roseanna let’s get to the heart of the matter. It’s sitting there like a big lump anyway. How do you feel about dying?” Roseanna, ever cheerful, and calm, replied, “Actually I’m not afraid of death at all. But we’re going to put up a good fight regardless. It’s the getting to the death that bothers me the most. Do you think it will be bad?” My day just kept getting better and better. Roseanna’s reading was moving but rather less dramatic than I had feared. No big scary cards, like the Death card; rather more family cards, like the Queen and ten of Cups, and of course the Temperance card which depicts an angel pouring water from one cup to another. We were both excited to see that card and talked about her family, and her angels and what her plans were for the next few months. And we cried. Roseanna died seven months after this reading. I picked up my Tarot deck this morning to draw a card for this Roseanna Anniversary Day.

It’s hard to believe it was exactly a year ago that Roseanna and I sat facing each other across a pattern of picture cards. What had presented as a nerve wracking experience today is a sacred memory. Those few moments alone with Roseanna, sharing her deepest spiritual aspirations to her most mundane concerns, rate high among those I will treasure all my life. This morning my card of the day is the Empress. She symbolizes the sacred feminine manifest; fecund, lush, abundant, nurturing and consummately satisfied. I hear Roseanna’s words of wisdom for me today through this card, “Mother, sister, kindred spirit, live today as if it’s your last! Nurture the suffering, and be thankful for all the abundance in your life. Consider feminine empowerment with strength and benevolence.” In loving memory, I dedicate this day to Rosanna. May she dance with her gargantuan angels forever, in joy and peace.

[Rasputin]

British teams compete to unlock Mars secrets

From the first two failed Soviet missions in October 1960 to Britain's ill-fated Beagle 2 that crash-landed on Christmas Day 2003, Mars has a history of devouring space missions for breakfast. But despite its cursed reputation, British scientists are vying for funding to unlock the secrets of the red planet. This summer three British projects will compete for money from the European Space Agency to send an unmanned mission into space to garner data on the planet that has fascinated astronomers for decades because of its potential to harbour rudimentary life. The first enterprise is designed to tackle Mars's mysterious moons Deimos and Phobos - named after the sons of Mars, the Greek god of war. Phobos is also Greek for fear. "All the focus has been on Mars itself. We don't know much about these two," said Professor John Zarnecki of the Open University. "One big question is their origin. Where the hell did they come from? Were they formed in orbit around Mars or are they captured asteroids?" The mission's 310kg (50 stone) pool table-sized probe would take 20 months to reach Deimos before orbiting the moon for a further month while analysing its structure and mapping the surface.

It would then switch orbit to Phobos and could send down a lander to carry out more detailed measurements. "Technically this is quite demanding. You've got to go there and get in orbit around them or orbit around Mars so that you come close to the moons," Prof Zarnecki said. The second option is to send four satellites launched by the same rocket to spy on the Martian climate. The 120kg probes would make the journey to Mars together but then split up and orbit separately 1,000km from the surface. The probes would compare temperature, atmospheric composition and wind speed at different points in the atmosphere.

[Rasputin]

Dawn of the age of private spaceflight

Two years ago next month space travel underwent its Wright-brothers moment with the first flight of SpaceShipOne. The roles of Orville and Wilbur were played by Burt Rutan, who designed the craft, and Mike Melvill, who flew it—although they were ably assisted by Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, who paid for it. Of course, history never repeats itself exactly. Unlike the brothers Wright, who were heirs to a series of heroic failures when it came to powered heavier-than-air flight, Messrs Rutan and Melvill knew that manned spaceflight was possible. What they showed was that it is not just a game for governments. Private individuals can play, too.Now, lots of people want to join in, and most of them have just met up at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles, to engage in that mixture of camaraderie and competition that characterises the beginnings of a new technology. And, as might be expected, they are brimming with two of the necessary ingredients of success: ideas and money.

First, the money. So far, more than $1 billion is known to have been committed to building private spaceships and the infrastructure to support them. For example, Mr Rutan's follow-up vehicle, SpaceShipTwo, is expected to cost its backers, Virgin Galactic, $240m for a fleet of five. The spaceport in New Mexico from which these are intended to fly will account for another $225m, although New Mexico's government is planning to raise this money itself. These are not small sums, of course. On the other hand, Virgin Galactic has already banked $14m of deposits towards the $200,000 fare from people who want to travel on SpaceShipTwo, even though it has yet to be built, let alone flown. All this suggests that spaceflight, if not exactly entering the age of the common man, is at least entering the age of the moderately prosperous enthusiast. For entrepreneurs, it is no longer necessary to have billions of dollars to get into space; millions will now do. And for those who merely wish to travel there, and have a few hundred thousand in the bank, reality beckons—provided that at least one of the ideas actually works.

[Rasputin]

Celestial find at ancient Andes site

Archeologists working high in the Peruvian Andes have discovered the oldest known celestial observatory in the Americas — a 4,200-year-old structure marking the summer and winter solstices that is as old as the stone pillars of Stonehenge. The observatory was built on the top of a 33-foot-tall pyramid with precise alignments and sightlines that provide an astronomical calendar for agriculture, archeologist Robert Benfer of the University of Missouri said.The people who built the observatory — three millenniums before the emergence of the Incas — are a mystery, but they achieved a level of art and science that archeologists say they did not know existed in the region until at least 800 years later.Among the most impressive finds was a massive clay sculpture — an ancient version of the modern frowning "sad face" icon flanked by two animals. The disk, protected from looters beneath thousands of years of dirt and debris, marked the position of the winter solstice.

"It's really quite a shock to everyone … to see sculptures of that sophistication coming out of a building of that time period," said archeologist Richard L. Burger of Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the discovery.The find adds strong evidence to support the recent idea that a sophisticated civilization developed in South America in the pre-ceramic era, before the development of fired pottery sometime after 1500 BC.Benfer's discovery "pushes the envelope of civilization farther south and inland from the coast, and adds the important dimension of astronomy to these ancient folks' way of life," said archeologist Michael Moseley of the University of Florida, a noted Peru expert.The 20-acre site, called Buena Vista, is about 25 miles inland in the Rio Chillon Valley, just north of Lima. "It is on a totally barren, rock-covered hill looking down on a beautiful fertile valley," said Benfer, who presented the find last month in Puerto Rico at a meeting of the Society for American Archeology.